Not really. A religion is a set of beliefs relating to the origins, essence and intent of the universe where a cult is a particular system of religious worship. All cultists are religious but not all religious people are cultists. Like all nazis are fascists but not all fascists are nazis.

PoliCon

03-18-2009, 08:21 AM

Every religion is by deffinition a "cult" but not necessarily a "Cult" - or more importantly - the occult.

The Night Owl

03-18-2009, 09:18 AM

The word cult is interesting in that it's one of those words which has a fairly innocuous definition but which has taken on very negative connotations in recent times.

The Night Owl

03-18-2009, 09:23 AM

Every religion is by deffinition a "cult" but not necessarily a "Cult" - or more importantly - the occult.

Any supernatural event can be described as the occult. Like the word cult, however, the word occult has taken on negative connotations even though it has none according to its definition.

Rebel Yell

03-18-2009, 09:44 AM

Like flies to shit.......:rolleyes:

Gingersnap

03-18-2009, 09:55 AM

He would have to take the time to define "cult" so we would understand what he is trying to elicit. As others have pointed out, the word took on additional and negative meanings over the past 50 years or so.

Usually today a cult is a group of people fixated on a charismatic living leader who determines right and wrong and good and bad from internal inspiration without reference to established theology, ongoing tradition, or well accepted doctrinal studies or opinions. It can also refer to political leaders when those leaders replace the role of religion in people's lives.

noonwitch

03-18-2009, 09:59 AM

It depends on one's definition of a cult. Most people now think of a cult as being something like the People's Temple or the Unification Church, a fringe-religious group that has ex-members and family members of current members concerned about the manipulation of the members by the leaders. The leaders tend to make financial demands of members, along with controlling daily life. There is a tendency in a lot of groups called cults to be separate from the world around them, and for the members to cut all ties to their previous lives.

100 years ago, a lot of religious groups that are now more acceptable were considered cults by that standard, even if that word was not used to desribe them. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Christian Science, and other groups like them are pretty accepted in today's mainstream. JW and CS have problems sometimes when children of members need medical care, which probably keeps them more fringe movements than LDS is considered. Rev. Moon would love for his group to be as accepted as LDS is currently.

The sociological term cult generally refers to a small religious group that is more informal/less organized than a church or a sect. It makes no judgement on the teachings or practices.